Can I Keep You: The Fight

Chapter 12

The Fight

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As always, thank you for reading and reviewing. I hope that you like this chapter since there is definitely going to be a fight. A fight between who? Kagome and Kikyo? Nope!

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InuYasha stepped back a couple of feet as Kagome made her way toward Sango.

Sayori stood next to InuYasha and watched her.

"Not bad for a simple girl who happens to work in your castle, huh?" Sayori said as she waved at Kagome who smiled back.

"Huh?"

"When I met her in my dress shop this morning, she told me that she worked in your castle. You've seen her before, right?"

He took another look at her all dressed up and began to remember the girl in the street who held her ground with him in a sword fight, especially remembering her legs.

Her eyes reminded him of a beautiful woman he met at his birthday party. Her face had been hidden behind a small mask, but he could never forget those eyes.

And how could he forget that girl who delivered him his mail the majority of the time? The same one who always tried to one up him?

"Her? The one who I fought with in the street, the one who I danced with at my party, the same woman who brings me my mail?!!!"

"What? You mean she's the same angel who showed you how to really handle a sword?!!!" Miroku said.

InuYasha growled at him.

"And she's the one from your party and that mail girl? How ironic!" Miroku laughed.

InuYasha growled louder.

"You!" InuYasha said as he approached Kagome. "You're her!"

'Oh no!' Kagome thought. 'He's found out that I'm his fiancée!!! What will I do?'

Kagome looked over at Sango who shrugged helplessly.

Kagome sighed.

"You're the one who I fought before!"

"Me?" Kagome said more to herself than to him.

"Yes you. I know you haven't forgotten. I also know you're that one from the party and the girl who brings me my mail!"

Kagome blinked before it registered in her mind.

'He doesn't know I'm his fiancée! He realized that it was me who went against him in that sword fight before...'

She sighed with relief before smiling.

"Yep. That would be me," Kagome said happily.

"Why are you so damn cheerful?" InuYasha barked.

"Gee...let's see...I obviously just won the contest a few minutes ago, or have you forgotten that quickly?"

"What? I'm not stupid like you. Of course I haven't forgotten."

"What was that? I assure you that I am not stupid!"

"Could've fooled me!"

"InuYasha, don't try to pick a fight," Miroku told him.

"Settle down," Sango told Kagome.

"But she humiliated me," InuYasha said unhappily.

"I wouldn't have humiliated you if you hadn't been bragging to the crowd," Kagome protested with a frown.

"The hell I was bragging!" InuYasha gritted out.

"Oh really? If I remember correctly, you asked if there was anybody who wanted to challenge the unbeatable InuYasha and that you promised not to hurt them too badly."

"Well there really wasn't anybody in the audience capable of beating me," InuYasha said angrily.

"Except for me," Kagome told him. "You provoked me."

"You said you wanted to take me on!"

"You called me a wimp and a pushover and started barking some chauvinistic nonsense!" Kagome informed him with a snort. "You were being arrogant, cocky, and much too full of yourself! Somebody had to knock reality into your head!"

"What was that? You want to make something of this?"

"I'd say you've already made something of it, something ridiculous for a reason just as equally ridiculous. You're being ridiculous!"

"I'm not ridiculous," InuYasha said as he took some guy's sword. "I demand a rematch!"

"Ha! I shall enjoy this. I'll take you on anytime, day or night," Kagome told him.

"Don't do this," Sango told her as she grabbed her arm.

"I must. He is being a petulant fool once again and I cannot ignore it. The young prince has started it and now I shall finish it," Kagome told her as she took the sword the man next to Sango offered her.

Kagome said a quick thanks to the man before directing her attention back to InuYasha again.

"Where do you want to do this my prince?" Kagome asked.

"Right here's as good a place as any, useless woman."

"Oh forget about the sword," Kagome said as she threw it down. "I'm going to knock some sense into you!"

She charged at him and knocked him to the ground, pinning him there and grabbing his arms.

The sword he was holding had flown off the stage and onto the ground.

"If I'm so useless," Kagome said between grunts of effort. "Then what am I doing delivering your mail to you?"

"Feh. I could get my own damn mail."

"Of course you could, but you're too lazy to do it. Why not get the workers to get it for you so you can lounge about in your room throwing darts at a board. Ha!"

InuYasha managed to roll over and pin her to the ground.

"That's not all that I do I'll have you know! It's hard work being a prince!"

"Of course. It's so hard to not have to work, idly ride your horse, and do whatever other meaningless things you do!"

"I am no pushover! Princes have responsibilities!"

Kagome was able to turn the tables and pin him down again.

"Hey there," Miroku said as he approached Sango. "How'd you like to roll around with me like that?"

Sango blushed.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Sango said as she watched Kagome and InuYasha go at it.

"Yes. Princes do have responsibilities and you're no exception. Oh, and princely duties do not include showing off to the public like you're so wonderful. You're a prince, not a god!"

"And you're a servant, not a royal! Like you know such a great deal!" InuYasha said as he flipped them again and held her down.

Kagome tilted her head back and laughed at him, laughed loudly, and laughed as if she knew something he didn't...and he hated it.

"If only you knew, little prince. If only you knew. And by the way. I am not a servant with no freedom and no pay. I am an employee. Remember that!"

Remember...that word struck a cord with her and all of a sudden, she remembered his lip sweeping up against hers, the warmth and comfort they brought with the contact.

She could've sworn that she blushed for a second.

'Why is she blushing?' InuYasha thought.

And then he remembered how warm and soft her lips were against his, how amazing and good it felt to him at the time.

Before he knew it, she managed to roll over. Unfortunately, they both rolled over onto the ground behind the stage where nobody could see them, but InuYasha came out on top.

And not being able to control it, the fall made them bump against each other, making their lips meet once again.

It felt entirely too comfortable, entirely too nice, and entirely too natural.

They pulled away from each other, not knowing what to think, but Kagome was able to regain her senses.

'I've got to get him off of me before something strange comes of this,' Kagome thought, thinking that it was a little too strange having him laying on top of her, pinning her to the ground.

She came back to reality before he did and rolled over, getting back on top before standing up and hurrying back up onto the stage.

Sango rushed to her side and dusted off the dress before sweeping her hair back.

"Are you okay?" Sango asked.

Kagome nodded.

"InuYasha. How foolish that was," Miroku said as InuYasha got up. "Starting a fight with a lady is incredibly wrong for a prince and a man to do!"

Kagome and InuYasha stared at each other for a moment before breaking their gazes away.

"You have upset me greatly," Kagome told him. "I won't be staying at the castle tonight. I think that my friend Sango and I shall use my prizes tonight. But we will be back in the morning to collect the mail."

With that said, Kagome grabbed Sango's hand and pulled her away.

"Are you crazy?!" Sango said as Kagome came to a stop in the best room in the best inn that the kingdom had to offer. "Fighting with the prince can cause us to loose our jobs, or worse! What if you get thrown in jail or something?!"

"He cannot fire use because Naraku hired us. And I doubt that Naraku would fire us, being such a desiring perversion of a man. I highly doubt that I would be put in jail since even though I made the first move, he started the whole thing and there are plenty of witnesses to vouch for me. He acted out of the appropriate actions of a prince and even if he were to go to his father with this, there would be big consequences for him..."

"Kagome. You must stop this. You cannot go around jeopardizing our mission! What if he decides to do some kind of a background check or something on you and find out that you're his fiancée?!"

"He's not smart enough for that," Kagome told her in a decided manner. "I'm sorry Sango. It's just that when it comes to him, I can't help but get all worked up. And the fact that he called me stupid didn't help to calm me down!"

"You are a princess. You have been raised better than this. You know that even when you are not using your true name, you should act with the aplomb manner of a princess," Sango told her as she put her hands on her shoulders.

"Basically, I should let him insult me?"

"Yes...and no. No because you are a princess, his fiancée, and you do not deserve such a degrading treatment, yes since though you are a princess, you are undercover as a peasant. Peasants do not argue with royalty or tackle them to the ground!"

"But he was working so hard to make something of it and I got caught up in his game!" Kagome protested.

"Uh! You are frustrating me now! Stop making excuses and start making progress! Remember what we are here to do! All we are doing right now is cleaning the castle and delivering mail! We should be doing other things that will help us with what we're here to do! Forgive me, but as your cousin, I have to do this!"

"What?"

Kagome watched as Sango raised her hands and for a moment, she thought that she was going to slap her, but instead, Sango clasped her hands on Kagome's arms and began to shake her.

"I'll shake some sense into you if I can't talk it into you!" Sango told her as she shook her back and forth.

"Okay, I get it Sango. You don't need to shake me. I should start acting like I'm undercover and do my undercover work, right?"

"Exactly," Sango said as she let go of Kagome.

"You were really so frustrated? You must've been holding that in for a while," Kagome said as she rubbed her arms, realizing that Sango had a strong grip.

"Well if you wouldn't have been going around messing with Kikyo and fighting your fiancée, I wouldn't be this frustrated..." Sango told her as she let out a sigh.

"Don't you think I'm frustrated? Other than those girls running around the village saying they did this with him or did that with him, I don't have anything telling me the rumors are true."

"You're right. There is no good proof..."

"We have to play this game another way..." Kagome told her. "We have access to his room. Why not sneak into his room and look for evidence?"

"That's a worthwhile idea," Sango agreed as she sat down on the bed closest to the door.

"Why not wait until he leaves the room, then have one of us clean around the room and keep watch and the other search the room. If InuYasha comes back, the one inside the room will be alerted and claim that they were just in the process of cleaning."

"That sounds good," Sango said as she laid back on the bed.

Kagome went and sat down on the other bed, the one by the window.

She just noticed for the first time that they were sitting in the lap of luxury for the first time in what felt like a long time.

"Hey Sango," Kagome said as she hugged one of the fluffy pillows.

"Yeah?"

"I've been a princess my whole life, but I only now realized how good it is to be one."

"Oh?"

"Sure. I mean we've been sleeping on those uncomfortable beds in small rooms for so long, I'm starting to really appreciate a big comfortable bed in a large room."

"I guess I am, too," Sango told her.

"Sango?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to take a bath. Could you go to Sayori's and get my peasant dress I left there?"

"I guess I will," Sango told her.

"Thanks," Kagome said as she got up and headed toward the bathroom.

Kagome closed the bathroom door behind her and Sango sat her crown on her bed.

She'd picked it up for Kagome after she'd tackled InuYasha, thinking it would be bad if she lost it.

Getting up off the bed and going to the window, she watched the people below going on about their lives for a minute before leaving through the door and closing it behind her.

Kagome stopped the water from running and lowered herself into the tub.

That fight with InuYasha. It was the second one they'd had. She remembered the first one. It was the first time she'd seen him again in many years.

"Now, is there anybody else who'd like to challenge me? I'll be here for a little while longer. Hell, if nobody beats me, I might be here all day, unless I get tired from boredom and go home," InuYasha said. "So, who wants to challenge the unbeatable InuYasha? I promise I won't humiliate you too badly," he said in a cocky voice.

"Such petulant arrogance," Kagome said in a low voice to Sango. "Do you see that cocky look on his face? He really thinks that he's better than everybody else. I'd love to knock him off of his high horse, but I doubt that he's worth wasting time on."

"You there," InuYasha said in a voice that stated that he obviously believed himself to be superior. "Yes, you, the one in the black cape to the right…I heard what you said. Why don't you come over here and…knock me off my high horse like you said you wanted to. Either you step up here and show me you have the balls to face me or back off like a coward."

"Why you," Kagome growled in a low voice that couldn't identify femininity or masculinity.

"Don't take the bait," Sango said. "We're supposed to be staying low profile, remember?"

Kagome snorted and turned around.

"Oh, I see that you're a wimp, a pushover like plenty of others. I was wrong to think that you'd be worth the time," InuYasha said in a supercilious tone of voice. "You know, you remind me of the woman I'm engaged to. I haven't seen her in years, but she had that…stupid factor about her, a waste of time, you know? It's hard to find a good woman these days for men such as ourselves. But wimps such as you couldn't get a woman, not even a man in trying. You're nothing."

Kagome turned around and grabbed a man's sword in passing.

Stepping up to InuYasha, she looked him up and down.

He was indeed handsome, but that arrogant, superior air about him, she didn't like it at all.

"Oh, I see he's found the audacity to take me on," InuYasha laughed. "What, no last words before defeat?"

Kagome remained silent.

"Answer me dammit!" InuYasha said.

Kagome remained silent.

"Fine," he said as he drew his sword. "I'll take you down."

Kagome backed up a step and got into a defensive stance.

InuYasha swung at her and Kagome jumped back before charging him and swinging at him, catching nothing but his sword against hers.

They stood locked sword for sword for a moment before both jumped back and then charged, swinging their swords at each other.

InuYasha turned his sword to the side and tried to whack her in her side but Kagome jumped back onto a stack of hay before jumping down with her sword raised above her head, bringing it down.

"Oh no, be careful InuYasha!" one of the girls cried.

InuYasha raised his sword to block it, trying to push the caped competitor but finding that the person's feet were firmly planted and fighting for firm ground with formidable resolve.

He brought his leg up and tried to kick her but she leaned all the way back before bringing her sword up to defend herself as InuYasha tried to bring his sword down on her.

"Yes, go Master InuYasha! You can do it, you're so dreamy!" another girl called.

He seemed to think he had the advantage with his competitor being leaned so far back.

Kagome pushed InuYasha back just barely, but it was enough for her to quickly move in between his legs and behind him.

She swung at him, but he jumped back up onto a wagon, doing a back flip and landing on his feet as if he were a cat.

"You're absolutely amazing Master InuYasha!" Another village girl said happily.

He continued to jump back as Kagome charged him.

He stopped jumping back and took her attack, blocking her sword with his.

He then pushed her down to the ground and was bringing his sword down when she somersaulted out of the way and landed on her back before jumping easily to her feet with her sword ready for attack.

He charged her and swung at her blade with such a force that it flew out of her hand and straight up into the air.

"You're so close InuYasha!" a girl called to him.

Kagome looked at him for a second before jumping up onto a water barrel and jumping up again, catching her sword in her hand and landing on her feet.

He charged her, pushing her back and getting the better of her, knocking her to the ground with his blade pointed at her.

"Yay! Master InuYasha did it!" the girls cheered.

He was breathing heavily.

"I must say, you've given me quite the workout," InuYasha said. "But I knew you wouldn't have the balls to beat me. What happened? I thought you were going to knock me off of my high horse," InuYasha said in an egotistical voice.

He started to laugh and threw his head back before laughing harder.

"You know, you're wrong," Kagome said. "You were wrong about two things, was it, Master InuYasha?"

Kagome raised her leg and kicked him in between his legs hard, making him drop his sword and cross his legs before falling to the ground in pain.

Kagome jumped up and brought her sword right to his throat, less than an inch from his skin.

"The first thing you were wrong about," Kagome said defiantly. "Is that I couldn't have the 'balls' to beat you, because," she then took off her cape with one hand and threw it aside, "I…am a woman. And as we all know, women don't have balls, and by your shameful position right now, I highly doubt that you do either."

Kagome shook the memory away before another one drifted to her.

She thought about InuYasha kissing her, that strange feeling in her stomach, and when they fell off the stage and ended up kissing again.

The last thing she thought about was about how she was going to be gone away from the castle for the night...and about how Kikyo would definitely be there trying to get alone with InuYasha.

"Oh no," Kagome said to herself. "Of all the rotten luck..."

She sighed loudly and went back to her bath.